BARFLY #1, what’s lower than a hench?

This week’s main review is Barfly #1, From The World of Minor Threats. Plus, the Wednesday Comics Team has its usual rundown of the new #1s, finales and other notable issues from non-Big 2 publishers, all of which you can find below … enjoy!

From The World of Minor Threats, Barfly #1

Writers: Patton Oswalt, Kyle Starks, and Jordan Blum
Art: Ryan Browne
Colors: Ryan Browne and Kevin Knipstein
Letters: Nate Piekos of Blambot
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Review by Clyde Hall

In the pecking order of supervillainy, who resides beneath even the lowly henches? Try an anthropomorphic housefly with an expletive deleted codename, a mute (to humans) former hench whose evil overlord is permanently incarcerated.  Yeah, this is a fella even the minions of the Monarch could look down on. 

But in the hands of primary scripter Kyle Starks, I never doubted we would have deep pangs of empathy for the downtrodden protagonist in Barfly, and the first issue rewarded that faith. It’s a Starks specialty, one I first encountered in his excellent Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton miniseries. He manages humor even using (maybe because of) the over-the-top, horrific human beings making the life of our former hench, now grill cook, a nightmare. His boss at the McJob, a bullying supervillain who frequents the same bar he does, and even his partners in low-level thievery take every opportunity to chip away at what passes for his self-esteem. 

But they’re offset by his friends. Another Starks trademark is presenting well the special individuals who faithfully stand beside those the world’s deemed ‘un’. Unpopular. Unappealing. Unwanted. In the first issue we witness that brand of kindness from a bartender, a feline-laden landlady, and a kindred anthropomorphic spirit making the local zoo his home. Through their perspective, we see that beneath the insectoid exterior and lack of raw strength lies a loyal, loving, and even artistic soul. We also see our hero using his eclectic, housefly-based powers cleverly. 

In this mostly character-study launch, we find that there’s a lot to like about the unfortunately named Sh*teater. And his intro definitely ends with a development spurring us to catch up with him again next month. Barfly is a spinoff title in the universe of Minor Threats, a continuing series set dealing with the B-level supervillains of Twilight City. As an exploration of their personal lives and losses, and hearteningly their triumphs both modest and amazing, it’s a great set of titles, one that’s a perfect fit for this slice of Starks goodness. 

In the other Minor Threats books, art has been handled by Scott Hepburn. His style lends the right tone for villainy reflecting Silver Age sensibility worn down by hard life and countless harder defeats. Barfly has artist Ryan Browne (8 Billion Genies, Curse Words) making a similar mark, and once again it captures the Starksverse spirit winningly. Flitting between its ‘everyday on steroids’ and outrageous villainy-in-low-places sensibilities, Browne’s panels are fly paper repositories of emoting and action. Appropriately, you may feel both the need for a strong hand sanitizer after a readthrough, and then a second readthrough to laugh and empathize with Sh*teater all over again. 

And after that second readthrough, you could find yourself secretly hoping that our downtrodden former hench will somehow, someway,  come out on top before the series ends. Maybe with the bonus of exacting a few pounds of revenge flesh along the way. Because few of us have the Mount Everest of obstacles this fly fly-man faces. And if he can reach the summit with his arthropod adhesion and little help from his friends, there’s hope for everyone.  

Verdict: BUY

The Domain #1

Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Rachel Stott
Colorist: Eren Angiolini
Letterer: Jeff Powell
Publisher: Image Comics

Review by Khalid Johnson

This first issue written by Chip Zdarsky boasts great art by Rachael Stott with colors by Eren Angiolini and letters by Jeff Powell. It looks good and I love the lighting here and how it bounces off of Stott’s linework. There’s a page later in the issue where I saw the layout and immediately showed the people I was with because I thought it was so neat. Powell gets to shine in a few different places, jumping between electronic text, an alien language, and human communication.

Zdarsky introduces us to the cast in highschool in the first two pages and does it succinctly before we meet them as adults and a more established friend group. So much of the charm is in the character interactions, how they’re written and drawn. Because of how much time we spend with them, they have to work because that’s the core of the introduction to this series and it lands. We see a closeness in how they look at each other, how they physically interact and there’s such a charm to them. We read playful back and forth banter and care in how they talk and then we are introduced to a pretty interesting power system and a growing scale for the story. I’m left with the question of how the new power is going to test their friendship and how these different pieces will come into play and I look forward to how the team will answer and deliver on those questions. Overall it’s a fun first issue that feels like if a group of friends discovered a Green Lantern ring that they could share. The characters are charming, the art is fantastic and it’s a fun read.

Kill All Immortals #1

Writer: Zack Kaplan
Artist: Fico Ossio
Colorist: Thiago Rocha
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Review by Jordan Jennings

Synopsis: The Asvald family is one of the world’s most powerful families with a hand in everything from banking, corporate business, and arms dealing. When Freya Asvald and her boyfriend Owen Jabari, journalist, become mysteriously targeted, it is time to take the boyfriend to meet the family to ask for protection. All families have something to hide, but is Owen ready to discover the truth about the Asvalds? 

Kill All Immortals #1 is a solid start to a new series that is full of action, violence, and twists. The comic is centered on Freya as she tries to girlboss away her family’s negative impact on the world. Zack Kaplan’s character work is decent but does leave something to be desired as it feels like we should be invested in both her and Owen quickly. The chemistry between the two isn’t there just yet, but there are seeds of something beginning to sprout. As for another example of the serviceable character work is the Asvald family dynamic. It sticks to familiar pop-culture family tropes, not unlike Succession. However, there aren’t enough pages to let the dynamics between the family play out.  

Kaplan seems to focus on action and plot over the characters and there the comic does shine. The opening sequence between Asvalds and their unwilling business partners was a pulse-pounding action sequence. The space between these two action sequences do struggle as it leans more on the character work. The central conceit and twist are interesting, but it feels worn out. 

Fico Ossio does a serviceable job on art. Much like the plot, the strength of the issues lies with the opening and closing action sequences. Ossio does well there and compliments Kaplan’s writing quiet well. Where Ossio works against the story is in that middle portion. Ossio’s ability to convey expressions isn’t where the story needs it to be for the relationships Freya has with her boyfriend and family to be enduring. 

Ossio’s style is like Valerio Schiti meets Ryan Stegman. It is very pretty to look at but there are moments where the character faces feel rushed or incomplete. The page layouts and overall pacing is solid work but Kill All Immortals #1 struggles to get me to care for the lead characters. Ossio’s art is a definite factor at play, but Kaplan’s script doesn’t do it any favors. 

Overall, Kill All Immortals #1 is decent start to a new series that has potential to grow into something more memorable. Yet, as the issue currently stands, it will leave you walking away wanting something more satisfying. Kill All Immortals #1 is the very definition to a “mid” reading experience. It is far from the worst comic on the shelves this week, but it is just as far from excellence.

Wednesday Comics Reviews

• Beyond Real #5 (Vault Comics): This finale issue was a really beautiful way to conclude what felt like a giant swing of a book, both in terms of the number of artists it brought together as well as in the deep human experience it sought to capture. I enjoyed read it month to month, but I heavily suspect this is going to be one of those books that hits hardest when you read it all together, collected in trade. I know that I’ll certainly be adding it to my shelf. This week’s issue was written by Zack Kaplan; with art by Fabiana Mascolo, Jorge Corona, Luana Vecchio, and Liana Kangas; colors by Jordie Bellaire, Mattia Iacono, and Liana Kangas; and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. —Zack Quaintance
• Slash Presents Deathstalker #3 (Vault Comics): I didn’t think any fantasy comic could be as much gritty fun as Vault’s ongoing series, Barbaric, but this new version of Deathstalker (which wraps up its story this week) really gives it a run for its money. I thought the whole team was perfectly-suited for the character, and the story they told was loaded with big fantasy action, gritty artwork, and funny moments. While this arc may have concluded, next month we’re actually a Barbaric vs. Deathstalker comic. Can’t wait to check that one out. The creative team for this issue was writer Tim Seeley, artist Jim Terry, colorist Kurt Michael Russell, and letterer AndWorld Design. —Zack Quaintance

The Prog Report

• 2000AD Prog 2390 (Rebellion Publishing): This week’s Prog launches a new story called Silver, and it’s loaded with surprises so I’m going to be a bit evasive in how I talk about it. First and foremost, I thought it was great. It’s scripted by Mike Carroll, illustrated by Joe Currie, and lettered by Simon Bowland. Set in 2001, there’s almost a survival horror tone to it, at least in this first chapter. But given what happens, I’m not sure that’s the genre it would fit most neatly in. I think that’s a credit to the story though — it’s loaded with twists, fun visual moments, and the promise of a more complex story to come. It’s just the first chapter, but I was a big fan of how this new story starts. As always, you can nab a digital copy of this week’s Prog here. —Zack Quaintance

Read more entries in the weekly Wednesday Comics reviews series!

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